Ice Cavern (Final Fantasy IX)
The Ice Cavern is a location just west of the Ceebell River on the Mist Continent in Final Fantasy IX. It connects the lowerworld near the Evil Forest to above the Mist, near Dali. It is a short dungeon explored early in the game. It is a cavern encased in ice, and many treasures can be found behind ice walls, which Vivi can melt with his Fire spell. The cavern is infested with monsters born from the Mist, and entering the wind currents billowing out of cracks in the ice walls will force the player into an encounter with Wyerds. Later, the ice in the cavern begins to melt. If the party tries to enter during the time they venture to Treno the first time, and any point after this, a villager from Dali will prevent them. Alternatively, if the player tries to get in from the cavern's base, a moogle will block the entrance. Later, in disc 4, like numerous other locations on Gaia, a root from the Iifa Tree prevents entry from both sides. Story Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, and Steiner travel through the Ice Cavern to reach the top of the Mist Continent to find a way above the Mist. Along the way, Vivi uses his magic to melt the ice, but when the party nears the end of the cavern a spell puts them to sleep. Zidane wakes up after hearing the sound of a bell and investigates the area. He is confronted by Black Waltz 1, an enhanced black mage who cast the spell, who then fights Zidane after summoning Sealion to assist him. After defeating him, Zidane wakes up the rest of the party, unaware that Zorn and Thorn are spying on them from an icy upper ledge. At the top of the cave Zidane informs Garnet that she cannot go wandering around as a princess. Garnet gives herself a new identity, "Dagger", after Zidane's weapon, and he teaches her how to act and speak casually, much to Steiner's dismay. Locations Entrance A cave in the side of a mountain on the mist continent, a beautiful place covered in ice that is supposed to take travellers above the mist. Ice Path The first in the area yields a tent. Passing through the wind currents in these areas will result in an encounter with Wyerds. On the second path screen there is a strange wall that Vivi can break with his magic, to reveal an Ether. Then there is a path behind the steps to a chest that contains a Potion. The first chest contains a Phoenix Down. Then staying left, there is a wall that can be destroyed to open a path that loops around to a Leather Wrist. The next area has two exits, the left leads to a cave with a moogle and the right leads to an exceptionally cold path. Icicle Field In the next area taking a right at the fork and going up the makeshift bridge, will yield a potion from the chest. Then the bridge can be broken by Vivi's magic to open the path to the chest containing Mage Masher (Final Fantasy IX). Taking a left at the next fork provides another wall that can be destroyed for an Elixir. Cave Vivi can use his fire magic to help free the moogle that is encased in ice, and reveals the ATE Teach Me, Mogster Lesson 2. Ice Path The party enter the area seemingly hit by a blizzard, but then one by one fall asleep. Zidane is then awoken by a noise and leaves to investigate. Waterfall Zidane encounters Black Waltz 1 who summons his ice giant Sealion. When defeated the blizzard disappears and the party wakes up. Exit The exit from the ice cavern. Outside Once outside the party see a village in the distance that Zidane thinks he's been too before. Before leaving, Zidane tells Garnet she will need a new identity not to be recognised. As Steiner and Zidane argue, Garnet finds a dagger on the floor and asks Zidane what it is called. At this point the player can rename her, the suggested name will be Dagger. They then work on her speech to make her sound more casual before leaving. Items * Potion x2 * Ether * Elixir * Phoenix Down * Tent * Mage Masher * Leather Wrist Quests Mognet There is a moogle called Mois at the cavern who has a letter to deliver to Gumo in Dali. Later, when Ice Cavern is blocked off, Mois moves to Qu's Marsh, to the entrance to the Fossil Roo. Enemies * Wyerd * Wyerd x2 * Wyerd, Cave Imp x2 * Cave Imp, Flan x2 * Flan x3 * Flan x4 * Black Waltz 1, Sealion (boss) Other appearances Final Fantasy Record Keeper The Ice Cavern was the primary backdrop for the Challenge Event Princess of Alexandria - The Path to Escape. It later appeared in To the Holy Land and Show of Resolve as its own Record. Musical themes The theme that plays in the Ice Caverns is called "Ice Caverns". Gallery ;Artwork Ice-Cavern-Artwork.JPG|Artwork. Ice-Cavern-Artwork2.JPG|Artwork. Ice-Cavern-Artwork3.JPG|Artwork. Ice Cavern FFIX Art 2.jpg|Artwork. Final-Fantasy-IX-Locstion-Concept-Art.JPG|Artwork. Ice Cavern FFIX Art 3.jpg|Artwork of a Black Waltz in the Ice Cavern. Ice Cavern Exit FFIX Art.jpg|Artwork of the exit. Ice Cavern CG FFIX Art.jpg|CG concept artwork of the Ice Cavern. Ice-Cavern-Early-Render.JPG|An early render of an area. Ice-Cavern-Early-Render2.JPG|An early render of an area. Ice-Cavern-Early-Render3.JPG|An early render of an area. ;Backgrounds and Screenshots FFIXIceCavernEntrance.png|The entrance to the Ice Cavern. FFIXIceCavernIcePath2.png|A section of the path through the Ice Cavern. FFIXIceCavernIcicleField.png|An icicle field inside the Ice Cavern. FFIXIceCavernIcePath3.png|A section of the path through the Ice Cavern. FFIXIceCavernIcePath4.png|A section of the path through the Ice Cavern. FFIXIceCavernCave.png|A cave inside the Ice Cavern. FFIXIceCavernIcePath5.png|A section of the path through the Ice Cavern. FFIXIceCavernWaterfall3.png|The top of the Ice Cavern's waterfall. FFIXIceCavernExit.png|The exit of the Ice Cavern, leading out from the Mist. IceCavern1-ffix-battlebg.png|A battle background in Ice Cavern. IceCavern2-ffix-battlebg.png|A battle background in Ice Cavern. IceCavern3-ffix-battlebg.png|A battle background in Ice Cavern. IceCavern4-ffix-battlebg.png|A battle background in Ice Cavern, when fighting Black Waltz 1 and Sealion. Ice-Cavern-Hidden-Treasures.png|Vivi revealing hidden treasures. Moogle-in-Ice-Cavern-FFIX.png|Moogle saved from the ice. Trivia * The characters will say different things depending on which wall is the first one Vivi melts. If the first thing Vivi melts is the frozen moogle, there is a special conversation for that. de:Höhle des ewigen Eises es:Caverna del Hielo (Final Fantasy IX) it:Grotta di ghiaccio Category:Locations in Final Fantasy IX Category:Caves